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Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

arstechnica.com

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Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#181

Post by Waterluvian »

andrewmcwatters wrote: post #6

I’m always surprised how poor engineering gets exposed in products I purchase being an Arizona resident. No, failing at 122F is not acceptable. If your hardware is exposed to outside conditions, it should operate easily below 32F, and well above 140F. Considering that phones can operate below 0F and near 122F, that’s embarrassingly bad. Same thing in vehicles. If you’re driving consistently at interstate speeds, you…

Maybe they didn't do the math or are planning to improve upon it. But maybe they did do the math and consciously wrote you off.

Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#182

Post by b112 »

TchoBeer wrote: post #133
smegger001 wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really Homo Sapians originated in the hot environs of Sub-Saharan Africa. Most early civilizations were in deserts, like Mesopotamia and Egypt. Their have been cities in deserts longer then there have been temperate climate cities. Humans are built for hot climates we just don't like them.

afaik Phoenix as a massive city wouldn't exist without the air conditioning. There's "humans can tolerate high heat" and then there's "so hot that we need technology to make it liveable."

People have lived in the artic at -50, and in the desert since recorded history. Lifestyles, and buildings were different, that's all. No need for modern tech.

Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#183

Post by newacct583 »

verytrivial wrote: post #180
newacct583 wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You're just seeing the system work. This sounds reasonable, and you make excellent points. But the important fact we all have to remember in these discussions is not the details, but that SpaceX is run by Elon Musk.

Whoa. What guy? This thermal issue is critical.

And it's a failure in a beta, with a sample size of one. As the poster upthread points out, this is the kind of failure you want to find in a beta test of a new product.

But right right... I forgot. Musk.

Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#184

Post by Sevii »

andrewmcwatters wrote: post #6

I’m always surprised how poor engineering gets exposed in products I purchase being an Arizona resident. No, failing at 122F is not acceptable. If your hardware is exposed to outside conditions, it should operate easily below 32F, and well above 140F. Considering that phones can operate below 0F and near 122F, that’s embarrassingly bad. Same thing in vehicles. If you’re driving consistently at interstate speeds, you…

My iPhone starts panicking whenever it runs maps when the temps go over 100F which considering its 115F today is not a good user experience.

Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#185

Post by failwhaleshark »

GavinMcG wrote: post #124
zdragnar wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+100F in Sun isn't at all uncommon during a hot summer in the upper Midwest if the object is dark. Air temperatures of over 100 are a semi-annual occurrence, typically around August, so a dark object (such as a roof or blacktop) pushing 120 wouldn't be a surprise at all. Still not as bad as AZ, but it's not that much different. We aren't even close to a desert or space either- forests, plains, lakes and rivers abound…

It was 102° F in St. Louis today. Not hard to imagine 20° hotter on some roofs.

122+ F ambient on concrete.. it's going to be much hotter than that.

Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#186

Post by failwhaleshark »

failwhaleshark wrote: post #166

It should work at an extension of military temperature ranges for global use indoors, outdoors, and in odd semi-indoor scenarios like the back of a hot truck: -75 to +125 C / -103 F to 257 F. Treating it as retail consumer electronics shit isn't rugged enough for real use.

Speaking of which, how could mobile phones be made to work in extremely hot temperatures for emergencies without shutting down?

Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#187

Post by seventytwo »

failwhaleshark wrote: post #166

It should work at an extension of military temperature ranges for global use indoors, outdoors, and in odd semi-indoor scenarios like the back of a hot truck: -75 to +125 C / -103 F to 257 F. Treating it as retail consumer electronics shit isn't rugged enough for real use.

Even commercial-grade electronics have a higher temp range than this. Commercial is typically 0C-70C. It’s insane that thermal shutdown is at 122F, considering it is specifically designed to be outside. You could get away with that if it’s a device that would never leave your desk, but not for this application.

Either this was a dumb oversight, or it was an intentionally cut corner because of schedule or MVP or something.

Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#188

Post by Cyph0n »

TchoBeer wrote: post #133
smegger001 wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really Homo Sapians originated in the hot environs of Sub-Saharan Africa. Most early civilizations were in deserts, like Mesopotamia and Egypt. Their have been cities in deserts longer then there have been temperate climate cities. Humans are built for hot climates we just don't like them.

afaik Phoenix as a massive city wouldn't exist without the air conditioning. There's "humans can tolerate high heat" and then there's "so hot that we need technology to make it liveable."

The same applies to the Gulf region. In fact, most people who can afford it leave the region during the summer.

Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#189

Post by tyingq »

aaomidi wrote: post #176
blhack wrote: post #154

Starlink is in beta. The entire purpose of the beta is to find stuff like this. They found something, and I'm sure that the next iteration of this before it goes to mass market will account for it. You're just seeing the system work.

If your engineering team had to wait for a product failure to realize an item that's going to be outdoors in the sun is going to get hot, what on earth else are they missing?

They put a non-automotive grade LCD in Teslas. I assume because they thought they knew better. I suspect hubris is at play more than full-on incompetence.

Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#190

Post by CapitalistCartr »

tombot wrote: post #144
CapitalistCartr wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where I live in Florida, roofs routinely get hotter than that. Listed temps measure air temp, in a ventilated box 5 feet above grass. This is nothing like being on a roof in Summer here. We aren't a desert and we have tens of millions of people. This isn't going to work. An aside, I was dating a woman from The North. She came here and we were travelling around the State. We stopped in Venice at a restaurant, I wasn't…

You are living in a city affected by global warming

I live in America's wang. Another few decades of "Global Improvement™" and the USA will be a eunuch.
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